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Dave Eicher, editor of Astronomy magazine and science popularizer, brings you thoughts about astronomy, cosmology, nature, the hobby of astronomy, the sometimes disturbingly pseudoscientific culture we live in, and more.

A month ago, June 30, astronomers around the world marked the first Asteroid Day, drawing attention to the need for a better survey of Near-Earth Asteroids. Now you can watch the panel discussion that took place at the Science Museum in London, involving founder Grig Richters, Brian May, Stuart Clark, Sir Crispin Tickell, Debbie Lewis, Richard Crowther, Alan Fitzsimmons, Lord Martin Rees, and Lewis Dartnell. Check out the session here.Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deich...

On Friday, July 24, 2015, Senior Editor Michael Bakich and I traveled to the world’s greatest airshow, EAA Airventure Oshkosh, to scope out the events being held by NASA and other cool things. Each year, more than 10,000 pilots flock to Oshkosh, some 100 miles north of Astronomy’s headquarters, to show their planes and celebrate flight. And spaceflight is always a part of the fun. On Friday, NASA held a forum discussing increasing opportunities for women in aerospace, with Susan Bagg...

A week later, the incredible historic moment has passed. The flyby occurred. We have seen some spectacular images of Pluto and Charon. Let's take a breath to make sense of the Pluto we now know.First, congratulations to Alan Stern and the entire New Horizons team. What a spectacular achievement, and the information will keep pouring in. Although this was a flyby, the mission design dictates that data will continue to be returned, processed, and released for another 16 months. So get ready to con...

It’s relatively rare that an astronomy book rolls along that I think astronomy enthusiasts MUST have. Such is the case, however, with The Cosmic Microwave Background, new from Springer. Welsh research fellow astronomer Rhodri Evans of Cardiff University has produced a compelling book, woven together with many stories of his personal interactions with key players, about the central string of cosmology, the microwave background radiation. The book (full title: The Cosmic Microwave Background...

A momentous event in searching for life in the universe occurred today during a press conference held in London. Breakthrough Prize chairman Yuri Milner, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, and a host of other scientists announced a $100 million effort to detect extraterrestrial civilizations in a new way. The Breakthrough Initiative is designed to “dramatically accelerate the search for intelligent life in the universe.”Scientists making the announcement included Hawking, Martin ...

Please read this new Asteroid Day blog post from Debbie Lewis, a risk crisis and disaster management specialist who is an Asteroid Day science advisor. I think you will find it thought provoking . . . Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deicherstar...

Congratulations to Alan Stern and the entire New Horizons team for today’s historic flyby success at Pluto!The color image released this morning is magnificent and will be in a sense the opening salvo of 16 months of data scientists receive and analyze for years to come. What a terrific day!Already, it’s clear that the icy terrain is more complex than we might have imagined. The bright “heart” feature contains variegated ices, one area being much smoother than the ot...

Check out this great story about my friend Garik Israelian, astrophysicist at the Institute for Astrophysics in Tenerife, and founder and director of the Starmus Festival.What a nice piece!(Note: The Financial Times has a pay wall. You must pay a subscription fee to access the article.)Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deicherstar...

The product of my last few months’ writing, The New Cosmos: Answering Astronomy’s Big Questions, will be published this November by Cambridge University Press. It’ll consist of about 100,000 words and 100 color photos on hot developing topics in astrophysics, cosmology, and planetary science of the last 10 to 15 years, including: How the Sun will die; the end of life on Earth; the history of water on Mars; why Venus turned inside-out; how the Moon formed; Pluto’s planetar...

I want to thank my good friends in the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York (AAA) — Marcelo Cabrera, Susan Andreoli, and David Kraft — for inviting me to speak this fall at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. On Friday, October 16, 2015, I’ll deliver a lecture, “The New Cosmos: Answering Astronomy’s Big Questions,” a talk that broadly describes many of the “big science” themes of discovery in my forthcomin...

As we wait for the close approach of New Horizons to Pluto a week from now, I think you’ll want to see this video
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Thanks to Alan Stern!Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter www.twitter.com/deicherstar...

Over the past weeks, as Asteroid Day has approached, I’ve seen lots of talk one way or the other about the realities of danger from near-Earth asteroids.The real reality? On any given day, the danger is extremely low. Eventually, however, small and large asteroids will again strike Earth.Last spring, I wrote a meticulous 4,000-word story about the dangers from asteroids, after consulting with numerous experts in the field.You can read it here.And then join the discussion. But join it in an...

The day is finally here! Today, on the 107th anniversary of the Tunguska event, an explosion caused by an incoming asteroid or comet that flattened more than 2,000 square kilometers of forest in central Siberia, people around the world are participating in Asteroid Day. Asteroid Day global movement is a global day of awareness and public education about asteroids. At science centers and schools, homes, and community centers around the world, including in England, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Cana...

Joe Guzman, who is out there doing astronomy outreach all over the city of Chicago, well known as the Chicago Astronomer, sent me this last week:“The Chicago Astronomer Astro Club uses Astronomy magazine as part of our class lessons. We will continue to meet over the summer break while school is out.Solid.”Fantastic, Joe!! Keep those kids’ eyes on the sky! Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deicherstar...

You can now register for next year’s Starmus Festival in the Canary Islands, the premier science festival in the world. Next year’s event will honor Stephen Hawking and will be titled “Beyond the Horizon: Tribute to Stephen Hawking.” It will take place in Tenerife and La Palma, Canary Islands, June 27–July 2, 2016. The speakers will include:• Stephen Hawking• 10 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, including Harry Kroto, Robert Wilson, Adam Riess, and Bria...

The first Asteroid Day is now six days away! Please join me in signing the 100x declaration. Help to expand our inventory of asteroids in the inner solar system by a factor of 100. Help to take care of Earth’s future! You can sign the declaration here.
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Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deicherstar...

Kudos to Craig Werth and Christine Lavin for producing this song and great video! Now Pluto has its own song!
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Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deicherstar....

My son, Chris Eicher, is a journalism student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is starting a series of pro-science, anti-pseudoscience blogs, and I hope that you will read them and support him in his interest. We know that the world is awash in misinformation, nonsense, and bad science. It‘s all around you every day, on television and on the Internet, and it needs accountability. His blogs will address a variety of subjects, sticking up for reality and attacking the unrealities...

PRESS RELEASE• "Beyond the horizon – Tribute to Stephen Hawking" will be the theme of the third Starmus Festival, which will pay homage to the most famous British astrophysicist of all time and confirm the status of Starmus as the world's most ambitious science festival by bringing outstanding personalities in the field of science education and space exploration together in Tenerife once again• In the words of Professor Hawking: "With this next...

I know all of you are familiar with the great Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 astronaut, planetary defense champion, and one of the great promoters of science education over the past generation. My audio interview with Rusty for the “Superstars of Astronomy” podcast series is now online. You can listen to it here. And you can read a transcription of the interview here.Enjoy!
Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deicherstar...

For those of you who did not attend the World Science Festival in New York two weeks ago, you really missed something.I've previously reported on the star party, all the talks and activities, and the great opening dramatic play.Now, courtesy of photographer Greg Kessler of the festival, and thanks to Blake Zidell for sending them along, we have in the Online Reader Gallery a group of great photos.Enjoy! And see you there next year!Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deicherstar....

The Astronomy Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit outreach group started by telescope industry members, has had a busy year. It has gained nonprofit status and now seeks fundraising. It held an annual meeting at the Northeast Astronomy Forum in New York in April. It has a set of objectives that will commence soon to support astronomy outreach with a variety of star-party-related services.And now the group has added two important members to its board of directors. Joe Lupica is the former CEO of ...

A new tool from NASA allows you to experience Pluto time anytime. This is really cool. Thanks to Alan Stern for letting me know about this. Check it out here.Just how dim is the sunlight on Pluto, some three billion miles away? While sunlight is much weaker than it is here on Earth, it isn’t as dark as you might expect. In fact, for just a moment during dawn and dusk each day, the illumination on Earth matches that of high noon on Pluto.We call this “Pluto Time.” If you go outs...

Each year, astronomy professor Don Lubowich of Hofstra University has led an effort to host a great star party in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall. This year's event will take place on Friday evening, June 19th, with a rain night the following evening.This is one of the great public star party events in the United States and will draw thousands of people. Materials from Astronomy magazine will be on hand as giveaways, as people young and old view the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn — an...

You may have seen the coverage of the many activities that took place at the World Science Festival (WSF) in New York two weeks ago.Here’s a wonderful slice of local news coverage from CBS New York highlighting Celestron’s role in the Sunday street fair at the WSF.You can enjoy it here.Follow David J. Eicher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deicherstar...

My next book, The New Cosmos: Answering Astronomy’s Biggest Questions, will be published by Cambridge University Press on November 25, 2015. Last year, I spent much of my free time cloistered in my room cranking away on a new book about astrophysics, planetary science, and cosmology. You see, more than 30 years ago I was incredibly inspired by Cosmos, the TV series and book, and got to know Carl Sagan, who encouraged me onward. The inspiration led me to write my 21st book, which will be pu...

The Astronomy Foundation, the telescope industry outreach group, has launched a new Picture of the Week feature on its website. You can see it here.The inaugural photo is by our good friend and Australian astroimager Jeanette Lamb, and shows the Lagoon Nebula in Sagittarius and the surrounding region, rich in stars, gas, and dust.Jeanette shot this with a Takahashi FS78 scope, a Canon CDS 1100D camera, and a composite of exposures.Find out more about the Astronomy Foundation.Follow David J. Eich...

I urge you to take a couple minutes out of your day and watch this short film, "Bring Back the Stars." It was made by Yining Zhou and features footage of Audrey Fisher, president of the Chicago Astronomical Society and a light pollution activist, and others in the Chicago area.It is a short film that all astronomy enthusiasts should see.You can watch it below:
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And keep the faith. Do what you can to bring the night sky back to thos...

The World Science Festival, held May 27–31 in New York City, was a great event. I previously blogged about one of the largest activities associated with the festival, Astronomy magazine’s star party held in conjunction with Celestron, Discover magazine, Scistarter, and the Science Cheerleaders. Many other events took place during the week. On the first night I arrived, Wednesday the 27th, I was struck with the opening event held in an auditorium at the John Jay College of Criminal Ju...